Audit report on HEC: Taking education too seriously

Audit reports finds irregular expenditures worth of millions conducted by HEC.

ISLAMABAD:

The audit report of 2008-09 does not have good things to say about the Higher Education Commission (HEC). According to the findings, the commission has committed Rs23.72 million worth of “irregular expenditure” on different projects.

The amount was allegedly spent after the completion of the execution period of these projects which caused loss worth millions to the national exchequer.

According to the rules, when a project is completed it has to be closed formally, which involves handing over the deliverables to the concerned authorities for regular operation and maintenance, closing of suppliers’ contracts and closing of bank accounts.

However, in many projects of the HEC, the procedure did not follow during the period and extra expenditure of Rs23.72 million was incurred.

According to the details, Rs2 million were overspent on Microbial ACC Deaminase Bio Technology for Sustainable Production of Cereals, Department of Soil Science and University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF).

Moreover, around another Rs2 million were overspent on Up-gradation of the Department of Soil Sciences in the Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, of UAF with another Rs0.1 m overspent on the up-gradation of Department of Food Technology, of UAF.

On Campus wide Networking and Computerization of the UAF using fiber optics Rs3.4 million were overspent and Rs2.4 million was the “extra-expenditure” which incurred on the construction of a hostel for students of UAF.

An excess of Rs6.5 million and Rs3.532 million was reported in the expenditure of up-dating of laboratories of Agricultural-Engineering Department at UAF and constructing a hostel for the visiting faculty at UAF, respectively.

Furthermore, Rs1.4 million were again overspent on the Rehabilitation of offices, roads, buildings of the new campus and students hostels and Rs0.8 million can be termed as the “extra expenditure” which was incurred in the up-gradation of the department of Horticulture at the Institute of Horticulture Science, Food Technology, AUF.

Lastly, an amount of Rs1.51 million was “irregularly spent” on the Food Industrial Waste Management for the Production of Lactic Acid through Biotechnology Applications at AUF.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17th, 2011.